Cheating at Chess

[gwnn]

One further thing, I don't understand why bridgemates are not used in team events. I imagine it would speed up reporting of results.

Because they are?

[TimG]

Because they are?

 

I haven't seen bridgemates used in a team event in ACBL, but I have not played at an NABC in a few years. Sorry to be ACBL-centric.

[TimG]

Isn't that called a Bridgemate?

 

I didn't know it was possible for me to collect results from a bridgemate. Is there an app for that?

[gnasher]

I didn't know it was possible for me to collect results from a bridgemate. Is there an app for that?

No, I meant that you and your teammates could use Bridgemates to record your results, then the organisers of the event could provide you with the results from both tables and the IMP and VP scores. This could be in the form of a printout, or the information could be displayed on a Bridgemate. I believe that all of this is possible with existing technology.

[kuhchung]

I haven't seen bridgemates used in a team event in ACBL, but I have not played at an NABC in a few years. Sorry to be ACBL-centric.

 

Our local club uses bridgemates (or bridgepads? whatever) to record team games, I think. You get assigned a bridgemate and you carry it with you for the entire event.

[Cyberyeti]

Yep, lots of ways to cheat.

 

In fact, I was once accused of cheating in a chess tournament. As often happened, I was there with several friends, and we would chat away from the table during games. One opponent lodged a complaint. Director gave no penalty but asked that we stop in this particular case.

I also had something very similar to this at a tournament in the 1980s.

 

I was however involved in one genuine chess cheating scandal as a minor player. In 1985, a (male) former British junior correspondence chess champion, and student at the same Cambridge college as me decided he'd enter the British ladies correspondence championship in the name of a friend of his and duly won it, with me and several others as part of the analysis team. I've looked for a decent internet account of this and the two I've found are not that accurate, so I won't link them, but I think he was in the ladies international team before anybody worked out what was going on.

 

He got a 2 year ban and (for British viewers) a short comedy piece on Saint and Greavesie.

[Vampyr]

No, I meant that you and your teammates could use Bridgemates to record your results, then the organisers of the event could provide you with the results from both tables and the IMP and VP scores. This could be in the form of a printout, or the information could be displayed on a Bridgemate. I believe that all of this is possible with existing technology.

 

In addition, travelers with hand records are generally available on the internet very shortly after the event.

[TimG]

In addition, travelers with hand records are generally available on the internet very shortly after the event.

Not where I play.

[Quantumcat]

Not where I play.

As well as the results being posted on the net, here in Aus in between rounds a caddy comes round and gives everyone a small printout with official scores and any useful information (datums, pair rankings against datums, VPs, teammate performance, overall team ranking, next opponent number) that you check against your personal scoresheet to make sure the official scores are correct and any issues can be raised right away rather than at the end of the event.

 

Is this the sort of thing you are talking about? Nowadays there isn't any need to score up with your teammates and confirm the result with the losing team and hand in a score - the score up you do with your teammates after a round is just for an approximate score and/or to promote team spirit and/or to assuage curiosity about whether they defended right on such and such a board or bid the slam on some other board.

[gordontd]

Nowadays there isn't any need to score up with your teammates and confirm the result with the losing team and hand in a score - the score up you do with your teammates after a round is just for an approximate score and/or to promote team spirit and/or to assuage curiosity about whether they defended right on such and such a board or bid the slam on some other board.

I used to play in a team whose other pair included one of the most irritating players I've ever encountered. When people asked why I was in his team, I pointed out that it meant I never had to play against him. Had we used Bridgemates then, I wouldn't even have had to score up with him.

[Trinidad]

In addition, travelers with hand records are generally available on the internet very shortly after the event.

Not where I play.

Then maybe you should try to influence that.

 

At the bridgeclub where I play, the session is scored with the bridgemates. At the end of the session, the result is published on the internet from the playing location. After the game, people go to the bar and discuss the results around their tablets and smartphones.

 

The technology is there and it is used.

 

I could easily imagine playing a regional in the ACBL with the following scenario:

- You play the first session

- You pick up your smartphone/tablet and go for dinner with your friends

- During dinner you discuss the hands, with the hand records and all the stats about the hands viewable from the internet

 

I think that many of ACBLs customers would want that. There is no technical reason why it couldn't be like that.

 

Rik

[billw55]

It could be that way, but it is not obvious to me how that would be superior to printed hand records, for the purpose of post-morteming. And besides that, not everyone has a smartphone just yet.

[sfi]

It could be that way, but it is not obvious to me how that would be superior to printed hand records, for the purpose of post-morteming. And besides that, not everyone has a smartphone just yet.

 

"How much did we get for -50?"

"How many matchpoints would the overtrick have given us?"

"Would passing your double have been enough to put us in the lead?"

"How did our teammates manage to score -200?"

"Did anyone bid the slam?"

"Are we ahead of Fred and Jane?"

"Who are we playing next match?"

"Who is Allen playing with?"

"Who's winning the non-life master teams?"

 

And so on. All sorts of useful stuff that adds to the discussion between sessions. Not critical granted, but definitely nice to have available.

[Trinidad]

It could be that way, but it is not obvious to me how that would be superior to printed hand records, for the purpose of post-morteming. And besides that, not everyone has a smartphone just yet.

Who says it has to be either...or? At our club we have printed hand records and we provide the internet service. The amount of hand records that needs to be printed decreases steadily. (And if more hand records are needed, it is easy to print an extra sheet: just access the internet and print.)

 

With only printed hand records you will not know how the rest of the field did on the deal (unless you are willing to sacrifice a tree). With the results on the internet, you have the score sheet together with the hand record for each deal. You can see what other players did and you can ask others (if they are still in the bar) why they chose 3NT, despite their 5-3 spade fit.

 

In addition, it gives you a possibility to look at the deals later on to analyze them. Why did we score so bad on this board where the opponents made 4♠ with an overtrick? It makes a big difference whether the rest of the score sheet shows a list of 420's or a list of 200's (for 2♠+3). A printed hand record won't tell you that. (And usually, I lost the printed hand records the day after.)

 

Rik

[Rossoneri]

I think it would be nice to be able to record my bridge results on my iPod (or similar device).

 

During a team game, it would be nice if my teammates could also record their results on a similar device so that we could easily share results (and score extra quickly). After the round is complete, of course.

 

That would seem to be a security risk.

 

One further thing, I don't understand why bridgemates are not used in team events. I imagine it would speed up reporting of results.

 

On the other side of the pond, we do use them for team events sometimes.

[Cyberyeti]

On the other side of the pond, we do use them for team events sometimes.

In Pula, bridgemates were used and the running IMP score of boards already scored was projected on a large screen while the matches were still going on (so you'd know you were 15 IMPS down with 5 of the 8 boards scored for example).

[Trinidad]

In Pula, bridgemates were used and the running IMP score of boards already scored was projected on a large screen while the matches were still going on (so you'd know you were 15 IMPS down with 5 of the 8 boards scored for example).

While I could see that this has its charm, I don't like this at all. Part of the bridge skill is to be able to predict how you are doing in the match.

 

For some reason I don't have this feeling about barometer pairs contests. Maybe it is because I take team competitions more serious han pairs competitions.

 

Rik

[jvage]

In Pula, bridgemates were used and the running IMP score of boards already scored was projected on a large screen while the matches were still going on (so you'd know you were 15 IMPS down with 5 of the 8 boards scored for example).

 

Just to be clear, it was not a continuous update of the score. For the first part of the matches the screen had large numbers showing the time left of the round, then at some time it switched to showing the results (both for updates and checking of official scores). They were not very strict on times, but it may have changed before the round was supposed to be finished. I actually never saw my own result while still playing (partially intentional), but both we and our teammates were faster than average. The results were always up when we had compared and sometimes when we left the room. I don't know if the screen switched at a set time or after say a set number of tables/matches were finished. I can't claim it was impossible to see the score with 3 boards left and still finish in time, but more normal would be to be playing the last board (possibly at both tables with one delayed bridgemate-update if 3 boards were still missing on the update).

 

John